Police Wrap - 26 July

Those days have changed. The law regarding this has been overhauled and you only get done DUI if you are driving the vehicle (obviously) or attempting to put it in motion. Sit or sleep in it all you like but start it and put it in gear and you’re in strife.

bd84 said :

You can also get booked for DUI while sleeping on the back seat of the car if you have the keys in your possession or close to you (assuming you’re the only person in the car), I believe a way around that is by locking them in the boot of the car.

Not exactly true, refer to Section 21 of the Road Transport (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1977.

If you have not started or attempted to start the vehicle, and you do not intend to drive until your blood/alcohol conentration is below the legal limit, then you would not be convicted.

Sleeping in the back seat with the keys in your pocket shows the intention not to drive. Sleeping in the drivers seat, or having the keys in the ignition (or both) might be a different story.

bd84 said :

The only place you couldn’t get booked is when you’re driving on a private property. You can also get booked for DUI while sleeping on the back seat of the car if you have the keys in your possession.

This used to raise a dilemma for me in younger days. Risk driving home or do the responsible thing and sleep it off in the pub carpark. Where is the incentive to not risk driving home and be in bed 5min later, or risk sleeping in the car for 2-3hrs, the whole time committing an offence of DUI. My solution was to park a short walk from the pub and sleep in the car, that way when the police do their carpark patrol, you’re nowhere near. Seems to defeat the purpose theyre trying to encourage of not driving drunk.

The only place you couldn’t get booked is when you’re driving on a private property. You can also get booked for DUI while sleeping on the back seat of the car if you have the keys in your possession or close to you (assuming you’re the only person in the car), I believe a way around that is by locking them in the boot of the car.

Anna Key said :

Can you be done for DUI and an unreg vehicle whilst still in the carpark? Is it because it is a public carpark?

Anna – I think you can be done for DUI anywhere. I had a friend who got smashed, walked to his car in Lonsdale street (winter), started the engine to clear the windscreen and warm it up and fell asleep. Even though the car wasn’t moving and he was asleep he was booked for DUI – effectively “in control” of a vehicle. Mind you, that wasn’t as bad as when he decided to urinate on the windscreen of a parked car in the same street a week later and when the frost melted he saw the two police who had booked him the previous week sitting in the front.

But that was years ago – he’s now a senior exec in the public service…

Can you be done for DUI and an unreg vehicle whilst still in the carpark? Is it because it is a public carpark?

I noticed a Magna station wagon that looks like it collided with a largish tree on the middle traffic island at the intersection of Drakeford Dr and Isabella Dr. No sign of any occupants.